Former Bile Bear Who Lost Both Front Paws Is Loving Her New Life! (PHOTOS)

Not too long ago, we shared the incredible rescue of three bears: Hai Chan, Thai Van, and Thai Giang, who were all rescued from a horrific bile farm in Vietnam, thanks to FOUR PAWS International. And now, we are excited to share the bears’ progress since their rescue!

All three bears are thriving in their newly built sanctuary home aptly named the BEAR SANCTUARY in north-eastern Vietnam. Hai Chan has particularly touched the hearts of animal lovers worldwide because she is missing her front paws. But don’t think that has stopped this sweet gal from enjoying her new sanctuary home!

Thanks to the dedication of the FOUR PAWS veterinarians and animal caretakers, the traumatized bears were nursed back to health for six weeks, first in the quarantine ward and then in the bear house of their new sanctuary home. Here is Hai Chan enjoying the bear house!

Despite missing her front paws and the suffering she endured on the bile farm, FOUR PAWS is amazed at Hai Chan’s rapid physical and mental recovery. 

“The moment the doors to the enclosure opened and Hai Chan stuck her nose out of the bear house, our entire team was overcome with emotion,” said Szilvia Kalogeropoulu, a veterinarian at FOUR PAWS. This was the first time Hai Chan had ever experienced grass!

Hai Chan has a special low hammock bed in the bear house, made just for her because she is unable to climb into a higher one. She also has extra straw on the floor for softer walking. Hai Chan uses her stumps to hold food and even makes her bed. Soon, FOUR PAWS hopes to socialize Hai Chan with Thai Van and Thai Giang. 

“She loves enrichment that has food in it, especially water, spinach, and apples. She likes her comfort and enjoys making a nest to sleep in during the day. Hai Chan is now very relaxed and happy with the bear keepers,” Kalogeropoulu said.

After so many years of torment in a tiny metal cage in a bile farm, Hai Chan is finally free. Click on the below video to see Hai Chan in her new sanctuary home! 

Most people are unaware that these horrific bear bile farms exist, so it’s up to us to expose the truth. Bear bile is used in Traditional Asian Medicine for everything from headaches to shampoo, but it comes at a great cost to the bears. In order to extract the bile fluid, bears have to be tightly restrained as a catheter is inserted into their gallbladder – this process is extremely painful and can happen daily. Many bears are kept in horrible conditions and barely kept alive. While there are many organizations working to end bile farming and raise awareness that there are synthetic alternatives for bear bile (in some cases, Advil would do the same job), the practice still persists.

Vietnam agreed to close all bile farms by 2020, so the work these rescuers are doing to relocate animals and give them a new life is incredibly important. If you are moved by this story, please consider making a donation to FOUR PAWS so they can continue their heroic work and save more animals like these three beautiful bears.

To stay posted on the rehabilitation of these bears, check out the FOUR PAWS Facebook page.

Image Source: FOUR PAWS